Accelerate Estonia & Garage 48 organize hackathon against coronavirus

The accelerator program Accelerate Estonia and Garage48 organized an online hackathon to develop solutions to help Estonia emerge from the coronavirus crisis and create competitive advantages for the post-crisis period.

By Elis Tootsman

The initiative, which has become the largest online hackathon in Estonia, was opened by President Kersti Kaljulaid and Minister of Foreign Trade and Information Technology Kaimar Karu.

According to
President Kersti Kaljulaid, organizing an online hackathon demonstrates
the attitude of Estonians, who at difficult times do not lose their
heads but start working on solutions. “It is my sincere
pleasure to see that this initiative, organized in just a few hours,
has become an international event bringing together more than 1,000
participants from more than 20 countries and 14 timezones. This is a
genuine example of an initiative that leads people
to look for solutions to the challenges we face, ”said President
Kaljulaid.

“The spread of coronavirus is a threat to our health and to our social and economic environment. It’s important to join forces and work towards solutions,” the President added.

Online hackathon can set a good example

Viljar Lubi, idea
author of Accelerate Estonia, said the online hackathon is a great
example for other countries. “We just proved that it’s possible to
organize event with international impact and that just
with some few hours. In difficult times we have always two options:
remain seated when the ground is burning or start searching for
solutions. We chose the last option! I hope that other countries will
follow our initiative, the Accelerate Estonia and Garage48
teams have confirmed their willingness to share their experience with
other countries looking to organize a similar online hackathon, ”says
Lubi.

“I have to say that
It is gratifying to see that the European Commission has also taken the
initiative here. Specifically, the European Commission is inviting
start-ups to participate in a competition seeking
innovative and technological solutions to prevent the spread and impact
of the coronavirus. At this point, I can say that among the ideas that
have taken part in our online hackathon, there are a large number of
those who, within 48 hours, have developed solutions
that have not only a perspective in Estonia but a global impact, ”Lubi
added.

Ideas included connecting people t risk to volunteers via a call center and dispatch app, a breathing apparatus, a medical volunteer management database, a virus tracker, and a temporary workplace exchange platform.